General Electric (NYSE:GE) Trading 1.7% Higher

General Electric (NYSE:GE)’s share price rose 1.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $174.80 and last traded at $174.71. 1,181,106 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 6,746,764 shares. The stock had previously closed at $171.87.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of General Electric from $195.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of General Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of General Electric from $148.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Barclays raised their price target on General Electric from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on General Electric from $192.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, General Electric presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $190.38.

General Electric Stock Up 0.6 %

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $164.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $162.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $191.14 billion, a PE ratio of 57.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.21. General Electric had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 7.66%. The company had revenue of $9.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.68 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that General Electric will post 4.15 EPS for the current year.

General Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 11th were given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 11th. General Electric’s payout ratio is currently 36.72%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Electric

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. USA Financial Formulas boosted its stake in shares of General Electric by 24,042.9% in the fourth quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 10,140 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,294,000 after buying an additional 10,098 shares during the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC grew its stake in shares of General Electric by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 225,814 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $28,821,000 after purchasing an additional 5,997 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in General Electric by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,184,772 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $534,123,000 after acquiring an additional 318,245 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in General Electric by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 88,444,222 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $11,288,136,000 after purchasing an additional 550,996 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sheets Smith Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of General Electric in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,959,000. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About General Electric

General Electric Company, doing business as GE Aerospace, designs and produces commercial and defense aircraft engines, integrated engine components, electric power, and mechanical aircraft systems. It also offers aftermarket services to support its products. The company operates in the United States, Europe, China, Asia, the Americas, the Middle East, and Africa.